SCOTT WALTER, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Student Success at the Forefront
KATY O'NEILL, LOYOLA, NOTRE DAME LIBRARY
DEBORAH HALPERINILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
The “Center for Engaged Learning”: Catalyzing Change Across Campus and Community
SCOTT WALTERILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Director, Action Research CenterIllinois Wesleyan Universityhttps://www.iwu.edu/action/
Deborah Halperin
Professor and University LibrarianUniversity Copyright OfficerIllinois Wesleyan Universityhttps://www.iwu.edu/library/
Scott Walter
Illinois Wesleyan University (at a Glance)• Located in Bloomington, Illinois
– ~130,000 in Bloomington/Normal• 1,693 FTE students (all undergraduate)
– 31% students of color• 215 FTE faculty
– 85 part-time faculty included above• 50 majors
– Includes professional & pre-professional programshttps://www.iwu.edu/
about/facts.html
Foundations of Collaboration• Information Literacy Instruction
– First-Year Experience– Writing-Intensive Courses– Undergraduate Research
• Teaching, Learning and Technology– Information Technology Services– Mellon Center for Curricular and
Faculty Development
https://www.iwu.edu/library/information/partners.html
Campus Community: The Ames Library (FY18)• 29 FTE (6 librarians)
• 392,000 items– 185,000 digital
• 162,000 visits• 36,500 items circulated• 300,000+ downloads from IR• 712 reference transactions
– 453 research consultations• 80 instructional sessions
– 1,097 students reached
Library as Campus Catalyst –Undergraduate Research
• Annual Intellectual Theme• Undergraduate Research
– Honors Research– Independent Research– Funded Programs– Capstone Courses and
Interdisciplinary Projects• Community-Based Research https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/
Campus Community: ARCThe Action Research Center
– offers courses in action research, grant-writing
– provides faculty development related to engaged research, service-learning, and embedding community engagement in courses, research projects
– connects students and faculty with community groups, non-profit organizations, and community-based internships, fellowships, and research opportunities https://www.iwu.edu/action/
ARC as Campus Catalyst –Community-Based Research
• City of Bloomington Comprehensive Plan (2015) as textbook for ARC-sponsored courses
• 400+ students have taken part in ARC-sponsored courses, internships, and independent studies
• ARC-sponsored classes held in community sites, including community centers, churches, public library, city hall
• Advocacy minor launched in 2019
Community Catalyst: West Bloomington Revitalization Project
• West Bloomington is designated as a “slum and blighted” area (HUD) & a “food desert” (USDA)
• IWU connects with volunteers, interns, work study, courses, & research opportunities
• Campus-Community partnership supported $1.5M grant from Illinois Attorney General National Foreclosure Settlement for West Bloomington Housing Collaborative https://westbloomington.org/
Campus-Community Connections• Barbers with Books
• Book Bike
• Seed Library
• Tool Library
– Bed Blitz
Library + ARC• Service Learning & Information Literacy• Action Research Center LibGuide• Re-Location of the ARC into the Ames
Library• Establishment of ARC liaisons program
to complement existing library liaisons and IT liaisons
• Initial identification of areas of overlap in community engagement, e.g., census
Strategic Planning at Illinois Wesleyan• Academic Competitive Advantage &
Innovation WG• Active and Engaged Learning WG• First-Year Experience WG• Living-Learning Planning WG• New Revenue Streams WG• Thriving Students WG• Transfer Experience WG
https://www.iwu.edu/strategic-planning/intra/
Active and Engaged Learning WGThis work group focuses on ensuring high-impact programs … are available for all of our students …. We have many components for meeting this charge in place or in progress, but these components need to be aligned and properly sequenced to enable students to engage deeply.”
https://www.iwu.edu/strategic-planning/intra/
Focus on “High-Impact Practices”• First-Year Seminars & Experiences• Common Intellectual Experiences• Writing-Intensive Courses• Undergraduate Research• Diversity/Global Learning• Service Learning, Community-based
Learning• Internships• Capstone Courses & Projects https://www.aacu.org/
leap/hips
Center for Engaged Learning“The Center for Engaged Learning coordinates, promotes, and strengthens opportunities for students to participate in distinctive educational programs in the classroom and the community while also ensuring access to faculty, staff, and peers who can help to support their success in the classroom and beyond.”
https://www.iwu.edu/center-engaged-learning/
CEL as Campus Catalyst and Featured Story
• Resource Referral Guide
• Peer Mentoring and Tutoring
• Internships and Fellowships
• Faculty Development
• “Brand Promise”
First Step: Titan Central
https://www.iwu.edu/center-engaged-learning/titan-central/
Next Steps• Better coordination and promotion of undergraduate research
programs• Better oversight and focus on academic internships and
substantive career internships • Better coordination and support for the “signature experience
for all” as part of the brand promise, integrated into curriculum, student services, and faculty development
• Leverage unique strengths across the individual engagement cycle (prospective student – student – parents – alumni –community members) as part of a “powerful story” about our university
Thank youDeborah HalperinILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Scott WalterILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
KATY O’NEILLLOYOLA NOTRE DAME LIBRARY
LNDL Stories: How to Use Powerful Networks to Innovate Smarter
Associate Director, Research & Technology ServicesLoyola Notre Dame Library
Katy O’Neill
Independent academic library in Northwest Baltimore serving:
Loyola University Maryland
Notre Dame of Maryland University
6,100 FTE
FY19 Acquisitions – 91% electronic
125,000 sf building renovated in 2008
At LNDL, it takes two… ?
Collaborate For Innovation
Cultivating Innovation & Entrepreneurship Emerges as a Strategic Priority?
2015 Present
Impacting Student Success….?From FY18 to FY19:
45.6% increase in Innovation Station Makerspace users
Use of Makerspace and Educational technology has tripled
60.8% increase in “Pop Up Technology” Series Participation
New minor in Innovation & Entrepreneurship with Library technology ongoing funding written into new program proposal
..and community partner success?
Expand Your Reach with Storytelling
Outreach & Engagement Brainstorming Tool
A day in the life of an undergraduate student choosing
a career and starting a job
search
Expertise
Spaces
Exhibits
Partners
Tools
Educational Programs
Encounters
Resources
Matthews, Brian. January 2018. Keynote: Thinking Around the Box at the Re-Think IT 2018 Conference. University of Texas Austin.
Create a One Pager To Tell the Library’s Story
A day in the life of an undergraduate student choosing
a career and starting a job
search
Placing Library Resources in Their Context….
….Plus Lots of Library Tours = Increased Engagement
New in FY19
Support Student Success
EAST Membership November 2015 USMAI Membership June 2016
Leveraging Consortia while….?
…. building institutional capacity and developing a culture of assessment?
Reframing Library Instruction: Information, Digital & Data Literacies?
Impacting Student Success….? In FY18 60% of Loyola students and
74% of Notre Dame of Maryland students participated in online or face-to-face information literacy instruction
In FY19 14% of faculty FTE were reached via consultation or instruction through the Copyright Information Center launched in 2016
2 Presentations at Bucknell University’s Digital Scholarship conference featuring student work and research support
Use of Educational Technology like AR / VR is being piloted in the classroom 94% of students enjoying the
learning experience 97% interested in using the
technology again for learning
LNDL Stories
LNDL Stories: Faculty & Student
https://guides.lndlibrary.org/LibraryImpactDashboard
Thank you Katy O’NeillLOYOLA NOTRE DAME LIBRARY